Ambassador Bridge.
A Canadian nurse was stopped by agents at at the U.S.-Canadian border last week when it was discovered she was attempting to smuggle 150 lbs. of marijuana into Detroit.
Clad in a nurse's scrubs and a lab coat, Terri Lynn Maxwell, 48, of Amherstburg, Ontario, told authorities she was going to treat COVID-19 patients at Henry Ford Hospital, and presented a placard issued by Canada Border Services Agency showing that showed her status as a first responder. The border is closed to nonessential business due to the pandemic.
But when Customs inspected her trunk, they found 143 vacuum-sealed bags of pot, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider condemned the woman for exploiting the coronavirus crisis and her status as a first responder.
"At a time when health care professionals are working overtime to keep us safe, it’s really shameful that anyone would exploit their status as a nurse to smuggle any kind of drug into our country," Schneider said, according to The Detroit News. "To stop the spread of the coronavirus, our Canadian border is open only for essential travel — and smuggling in marijuana simply isn't essential."
Maxwell faces up to 20 years in prison.
It's a new era for marijuana in Michigan. Sign up for our weekly weed newsletter, delivered every Tuesday at 4:20 p.m.
